China’s Ebola Vaccine Enters Clinical Trials

An Ebola vaccine developed by a military-tied research institute has been approved to enter the human test stage, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) General Logistics Department announced Thursday.

The restructured vaccine, developed by the Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMC), is based on the 2014 mutant gene type and especially targets the strain plaguing west Africa. [Source]

The news agency did not say when the trials would start, but other media said it would be this month.

British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC is one of the front runners in developing an Ebola vaccine along with a vaccine being developed by Merck and NewLink. Both are in clinical trials, while other experimental vaccines are expected to start clinical trials next year.